'Primate Playdates' May Be Near for iPad-Loving Orangutans

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Orangutans at zoos nationwide may soon be able to connect with
one another and create their own network of friends by using
iPads and online chat services such as Skype.

The use of iPads by animals is not new, but researchers and
orangutan advocates closely involved with an orangutan enrichment
program recently launched at Milwaukee Zoo, wherein orangutans
are introduced to iPads, hope to take gadget use amongst orangutans nationwide to a new level.

Richard Zimmerman is working to get zoos across the country to
introduce iPads in their orangutan enclaves and thus allow the
apes to connect with their brethren thousands of miles away in
"primate playdates" via Skype or other chat services. Zoos in
Phoenix, Atlanta and Toronto are among those that have agreed to
participate.

Zimmerman is the founding director of Orangutan Outreach, an
organization dedicated to protecting orangutans in the wild and
which collaborates with zoos nationwide.

“Orangutans can communicate via sounds, squeaks and squeals,”
Zimmerman said. “They make all sorts of noises and they
communicate with their eyes. They roll their eyes at each other.
They glare at each other. It’s ingenious.”

And all of this communication is perfectly doable via Skype, Zimmerman points out.

Zimmerman’s hope is that orangutans soon will have complete
access to iPads and will be able to see who is
online and available at other zoos to “chat.” An orangutan in
Milwaukee, for example, might choose to chat with his cousin
in Phoenix, or he might prefer another ape in Atlanta.

The first step – getting orangutans to use iPads – has already
been achieved. Zimmerman is closely involved with an animal
enrichment program at Milwaukee County Zoo that recently
introduced two orangutans to iPads. Several times a week,
4-year-old Mahal and his surrogate mom, M.J., tinker on iPads,
where they fingerpaint with an app called DrawFree (a favorite),
work through the interactive “Fantastic Flying Books of Mr.
Morris Lessmore,” play a number iPad games and watch TV
shows.

The apes have taken to these colorful, tactile devices with
ardor, which is no surprise to Zimmerman.

“We know orangutans love doing something tactile, and they are
naturally very curious and inquisitive,” said Zimmerman. “Putting
orangutans with a touch screen, there’s a grace to it. It’s
phenomenal to watch.”

Although the Milwaukee program has been greeted by a media
brouhaha, this isn’t the first time animals have been paired with
iPads or touch-screen devices. In Mexico, the bottlenose dolphin
Merlin has tested a dolphin app on the iPad, and the Atlanta
Zoo has had a concrete “learning tree” in its orangutan
enclosure for several years. Atlanta’s tree contains a touch
screen where orangutans can take part in game-like activities
that test their memory, such as the childhood favorite where
you match identical images. But unlike the tests you take at
school, these orangutans perform these “tests” without any
prodding from instructors.

“One thing we’re proud of is it’s voluntary on the part of the
orangutan,” said Lori Perkins, director of animal programs at
Atlanta Zoo. “The tree is in their habitat, it’s in their home.
If they want to interact, they do; if they don’t want to, they
don’t.”

Biologists say one possible reason orangutans are particularly
inclined to participate in such tests is that their natural
habitats present challenges that demand similar cognitive skills.

“Orangutans in the wild have a lifestyle that involves solving
puzzles,” said Perkins, who also coordinates the Orangutan
Species Survival Plan, which ensures genetic diversity among
orangutans in captivity.

“Orangutans are tree-dwelling animals and fruit eaters. There’s a
lot you have to solve cognitively if you’re a fruit eater. You
have to memorize the terrain of your habitat, when different
trees in your environment are fruiting and where they are. You
have to know how to get inside the packages that fruits come in
― oranges have a peel, some exotic fruits have sharp
spines.”

Solving conundrums satisfies an intrinsic drive in many animals,
and thus it's not surprising that in Atlanta the orangutan
matriarch Madu will sort different types of birds, fish or trains
into distinct categories for hours without any reward other than
the mental challenge itself.

Zimmerman hopes that when people see orangutans using iPads, they
will realize how remarkable the animals are and that they are
worth protecting in the wild.

“One thing to remember is here we are in the West, doing these
fun things which are awesome, but our mission is to save the
orangutans in the wild, where their situation is drastic,”
Zimmerman said. “When people see that these are cool creatures
doing stuff on the iPad, people will think, ‘Oh my god, we ‘ve
got to protect these animals.’”

Before orangutans can start Skyping with each other, however,
engineers have to figure out how to orangutan-proof an iPad,
Zimmerman said.

Obstacles to overcome

Currently, the head of primates at the Milwaukee Zoo approaches
Mahal and M.J. with an iPad and lets them use it, but the apes
don’t have full access to the device.

“We’re not at a point where the orangutans can hold the iPads,
because they have an amazing ability to dismantle, so we have to
get housing for the iPads to make them unbreakable,” said Zimmerman.

“Whether orangutans will be walking around with an iPad we don’t
know; that depends on the engineers. So far, we’ve been
approached by companies that do wall-mounted touch screens of
various sizes.”

This story was provided by iPadNewsDaily, a sister site to
TechNewsDaily.